


judge, jury, and executioner

by amsves



Series: Master and Man (and Other Stories) [1]
Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Episode: s01e13 Apprentice Part 2, Forced to Kneel, Gen, Robin has a bad time, unmasking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-12 21:25:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16003595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amsves/pseuds/amsves
Summary: What if the Titans hadn't appeared to rescue Robin at the most wonderfully convenient time? What if they'd been even a minute later?[Bad Things Happen Bingo]





	judge, jury, and executioner

**Author's Note:**

> My first entry for BTH Bingo! I'm pretty excited for this.

“Don’t.”

Utterly defeated, Robin lowered his eyes to the ground. “I’ll do whatever you say.”

Slade removed his thumb from the trigger. “Good boy.” He turned back to his apprentice. “And, from now on,” he murmured, stepping forward until he was only inches from Robin’s face, “I’d like you to call me Master.”

Slade waited expectantly as Robin struggled to form the words. Finally, he pushed down the bile rising in his throat at the possibility of submitting to a criminal and forced them out. “Yes, Master,” he mumbled dejectedly.

“What was that? Speak up, boy.”

Robin clenched his fists in anger, but he knew it was pointless. Slade held all the cards, at least for now. All he could do was wait and play along. “Yes, Master.”

Slade’s sudden kick to the back of the knees brought Robin to a kneeling position on the floor with a cry of pain. “Glad to know you can listen to directions when you feel like it. Unfortunately for you, boy, your disobedience earlier hasn’t been forgotten. If you don’t follow orders, you know what will happen to your friends, yes?” 

Robin nodded slightly and tried to get to his feet.

Slade shoved him back down. “Stay down.” He straightened. “Yes, your friends will certainly pay the price for your disobedience, but there are other ways to get the message across as well. I doubt physical violence will have much of an effect on someone like you, but surely there are things you hold dear other than your … former teammates?”

“What are you implying?” Robin spat.

Slade crouched down in front of him. “Oh, nothing. I’m simply bringing to your attention that there are other things you can lose besides your worthless friends. The secret of your identity, perhaps.” Robin’s eyes widened, and Slade chuckled lowly. “Yes, Robin. I’m sure that mask comes off quite easily.”

Slade’s fingers were just barely grazing Robin’s cheek when a starbolt struck him in the chest, sending him flying across the room. Robin turned his head to see where it had come from, and--there! At the entrance to Slade’s hideout: the Teen Titans.

“Leave him alone,” Starfire stated slowly, eyes and hands aglow. 

Slade staggered to his feet. “Robin, attack!” 

But Robin couldn’t. He was frozen. All he could do was plead with them to leave, to save themselves, before it was too late and Slade killed them for real. “Get out of here! Go! You don’t know what those beams did--”

“Dude,” Beast Boy interrupted. 

“We know,” Raven added, hovering in a defensive position.

Cyborg’s usual carefree smile was gone, replaced by a hard conviction. “And we don’t care.” 

Starfire stepped forward. “We are your friends, Robin. And we are not leaving without you.”

Slade planted himself between Robin and the Titans. “How very touching,” he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice, “But Robin doesn’t need any friends.” He pressed the trigger once more, and the Titans collapsed in agony on the floor. 

“Really, Titans,” he continued, raising his voice to be heard over their pained groans, “I thought you would be a little smarter than that. Just waltzing in here without a plan? Pathetic.” He knelt down in front of Robin. “This is why you’re wasted on them. Stay here with me instead. Be my apprentice. Let me teach you.”

Robin nodded frantically. “Fine! I will! But, just …” he stopped, stumbling over his words. “Stop this!”

“I think you’re forgetting something, boy.” Slade produced a pair of cuffs and fastened them on Robin’s wrists before he could even see where they came from. “Think back to the conversation we were having before we were so rudely interrupted.”

Robin could only think of one thing Slade could mean. He bent forward until his head was nearly touching the group. “Please, Master. Stop.”

“Very good.” Slade pressed the trigger button, and the probes turned off. He gingerly lifted Robin’s chin with his fingers. “You learn quickly. I hope you will learn from all your mistakes as willingly. But…”

The first thing Robin registered was the pain. It was like ripping an adhesive bandage off, but at least a hundred times worse. 

The second thing he noticed was that Slade was holding his mask in between gloved fingers. 

Robin scrambled to hide his face with his hands, but it was too late. Slade had seen. He knew.

He didn’t have to see Slade’s face to know that the older man was grinning ear to ear. 

Blearily, the other Titans returned to consciousness. Slade tenderly smoothed the mask back over Robin’s features. “There, there. Don’t be upset. Just remember this when you get the urge to rebel against me again, boy. My orders are law, and I will be very angry if you fail to follow them. Do you understand?”

Robin nodded numbly.

“Good. Now, Robin: attack!”

Robin closed his eyes as he attacked his friends so he didn’t have to see how far he’d fallen.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me (and request bingo squares) at skeletoncloset.tumblr.com
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
